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Dictionary definition of “Dover test”

Dover test

n. a determination of what level of military losses, esp. war dead, will be tolerated by voters. Subjects: English, United States, Military, Politics

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Citations: 1994 Michael Ross Los Angeles Times (Sept. 24) “Pre-Election Battle Over Haiti Shaping Up in Congress Politics” p. 4: As it stands, congressional support for the Haiti mission is too thin “to pass the Dover test,” said Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), referring to the Dover, Del., Air Force base where the bodies of any U.S. soldiers killed in Haiti will be flown. 2004 Chris Hall American Narcolepsy (Apr. 26) “A quick note on opinion”: Since Vietnam, you may or may not have heard about the “Dover test,” which a military official coined as the threshold for what Americans could take as acceptable losses to the country, to people, and to the psyche in times of war. Dover Air Force Base in Delaware is the official entry point for America’s war dead. In the first Iraq War, the government banned media outlets from showing any returning deceased at Dover.

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